"The Greek government views the term "Macedonian" as a geographic term that describes all Greek citizens living in the Macedonian region in northern Greece. The government denies the assertions of the ethnic Macedonians in Greece that they are are a minority group; officials refer to them as "Slavophone Greeks" or "bilinguals." - Human Rights Watch

Click HERE to read Human Rights Watch Report on Greece. - A MUST READ

Click HERE to read the U.S. Department of State's Human Rights Report on Greece.

Click HERE to read MHRMI 2008 Annual Report on Greece.

Greek-Americans lobby Congress to refer to us as 'FYROM.'  H. Res. 356 is inaccurate and inappropriate.  Act Quickly: call/fax/e-mail/visit your representative.  Educate your representative on this issue ASAP!

BACKGROUND

On May 1, 2007, the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues co-chaired by Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) introduced a resolution calling upon Macedonia to  “stop the utilization of materials that violate provisions of the United Nations-brokered Interim Agreement between the FYROM and Greece regarding `hostile activities or propaganda” and “work with the United Nations and Greece to achieve longstanding United States and United Nations policy goals of finding a mutually-acceptable official name for the FYROM.” 

H. Res. 356, which was co-introduced by Chairman of the Europe Subcommittee, Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) and Ranking Member of the Europe Subcommittee, Congressman Elton Gallegly (R-CA), was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs – read full text. (To read a letter UMD sent to Congresswoman Maloney, click HERE )

IT IS UP TO US TO PROTECT OUR NAME

 Action Requested - Call, Fax, E-mail or Visit your Representative:

1. To not co-sponsor H. Res. 356 

2. To withdraw support of H. Res. 356 if your Representative has co-sponsored

Click HERE for a Sample Letter.

Click HERE on information how to contact your Representative.

To E-mail your Representative, please visit this link http://www.house.gov/writerep and follow the instructions. 

Please keep us posted as to any progress you make by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

The United Macedonian Diaspora calls on all Macedonian-Americans to inform and educate every member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and their own Representative in Congress about the inaccuracies of H. Res. 356.

For more information, please call (202) 294-3400, or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

UPDATE: Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) introduced a Senate resolution similiar to the House resolution on August 3, 2007.  Please click HERE for more information.  

ADDITIONAL NEWS: The National Coordinated Effort of Hellenes took out a full page advertisement on July 10, 2007 in The Hill newspaper.  To see the AD, please click HERE.  ACT NOW!

Rebuttal to H. Res. 356 

H. Res. 356 unfortunately makes three highly inaccurate claims with regard to Macedonia in its relations with their neighboring country Greece.

Television Report

The television report in question produced by a Greek television station, using the hospitality of Macedonian schools, is to say the least, controversial and may be a result of manipulating high school children, which is in direct contravention of international standards. 

In addition, the fact remains that children in the Republic of Macedonia are not being taught that parts of Greece are part of the Republic of Macedonia as purported by the television report.

The clip of the report can be found on YouTube at the following address:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWIKDhhTvnU

When you view this, you will realize just how confusing the identity issue is and why it should be left to historians, anthropologists, linguists, and others.

Textbooks

The resolution claims that a military academy textbook contains maps showing “Greater Macedonia.”  The maps in question in the book are very old, originally drawn in the 1800s, by non-Macedonians, and are presented in a historical light.  Nonetheless, to show good neighborly relations, the Macedonian Ministry of Defense removed the book from use at the academy.  Please click HERE to read news article about this.  

The textbooks used in the educational system in the Republic of Macedonia do not contain any maps of this kind.

Airport

The resolution states that the Republic of Macedonia has violated the Interim Accord by renaming the Skopje Airport to Alexander the Great International Airport.

The Enterprise for Airport Services “Macedonia”- Skopje, has recently renamed its two international airports, located in Ohrid and Skopje.  The Ohrid Airport was renamed “St. Paul the Apostle” and the Skopje Airport was renamed “Alexander the Great.”  Both individuals are historic figures, associated with the history of the region and therefore are part of our universal consciousness.

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